Anand goes down to Kramnik, Negi rocks

Viswanathan Anand is comprehensibly beaten by Kramnik who found his magical touch in this key encounter.

Viswanathan Anand suffered his first defeat of the year at the hands of World champion Vladimir Kramnik while youngest Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi scored a rocking victory over seasoned GM John Van Der Wiel in the sixth round of Corus International Chess tournament.

For Anand, it turned out to be a shocking loss as the Indian was comprehensibly beaten by Kramnik who found his magical touch in this key encounter.

Playing the black side of a Catalan opening, Anand found Kramnik impressively prepared in the opening as the Russian came out with a slightly superior position and nurtured it well enough to earn a full point after 53 moves.

For the records, this was the first time in the new millennium that Kramnik beat Anand.

Meanwhile in the 'C' group, Negi displayed top form to beat Wiel who played the black side of a Sicilian Accelerated Dragon.

The Delhi-based Grandmaster showcased his positional understanding and found his opponent unawares in tactical complications to post his third victory in the tournament.

Backed by his hard earned victory, Negi jumped to the joint second spot on four points.

In the 'A' group, Grandmaster Teimour Radjabov settled for a draw with maintained his full point lead over top seed Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria and Kramnik.